Curse of the Chimera
by Jazzola
Summary: What has happened to the gang? Daphne is looking back to how they found themselves prisoners and injured. Rated T to be safe, now complete! F/D, a hint of V/S. Some more intimate parts in the last chapter! PS: Revamped after small mistake spotted.
1. Chapter 1

Daphne slowly opens her eyes a fraction. She looks up and around her, and her heart pounds so hard stars erupt in front of her. Fred is lying next to her, his eyes closed, blood coating his neck and parts of his face. His ascot is stained through, and Daphne gasps as she sees something so familiar so dreadfully altered. On her other side, Velma is gently wrapping a bandage round Shaggy's arm, which is bleeding. Shaggy is wincing but trying not to let her see. Scooby lies next to his friend, whining softly. Velma looks over and sees that Daphne is awake, and tosses her a bandage and some wet cloths.

"Daph, get the dried blood off Freddy's neck. From what I saw, it's not that big a wound, it just bled a lot."

Daphne nods and picks up the equipment, crawling over to Fred's side and watching for a breath, not completely convinced he is alive. She relaxes as she sees the gentle rise and fall of his chest, and starts rubbing at the blood, trying to get the majority off. His eyes flicker, but don't open.

"Freddy, if you can hear me, give me some sign."

He gives a faint moan and his lips form a word, but Daphne doesn't quite make it out.

"Sorry, Freddy?"

"What happened?" he whispers, trying to open his eyes. Daphne gently puts her hand on top of his, trying to reassure him.

"Just lie still for me."

He opens his eyes a fraction, and watches as Daphne begins rubbing at the blood on his skin. Blood begins coating her fingers and the wet cloths, but she doesn't want to stop; with every rub she feels like she is helping him, cutting away at the congealed blood and one step closer to getting to the wound.

His question, however, has brought up a query in her mind which is very similar; in fact, she is wondering the self same thing.

What had happened and why to bring Mystery Inc. to this room, with two members injured, one maybe badly from what she had seen so far, and why had it happened?

Slowly the questions begin to unravel themselves in her mind, and she finds herself thinking of a day or so ago, when they had received a call from a girl living in Minnesota…

* * *

"Please, is this Mystery Inc.?"

"Yes," Fred replied, leaning one elbow on the wall as he spoke. The voice paused, and then continued, somewhat more agitated.

"I need help from you. My name is Kristina. I live in Minnesota, and a load of people living near my house have gone missing and I think they've been abducted by the Chimera… The neighbours are avoiding me like the plague, but my friend said that you had helped her before and that I should call you."

"A chimera?" Fred asked, unable to keep a hint of scepticism out of his voice. "OK, we'll come. What's your address?"

Kristina told us her address and Fred jotted it down, then cut the call.

Velma glanced over and sighed.

"You could try having a touch more tact, Jones."

She tended to call him by his surname when she was trying to make a point, and his eyebrows rose a little at the sound of it.

"What?"

"The scepticism. Look, I know we've had a lot of fake ghosts and that, but that tone of voice isn't the kind of thing that people want to hear, especially if people living near them have disappeared."

Fred rolled his eyes, but Velma had a point and he knew it. One of Fred's weaknesses is that he hates criticism, in any shape or form, and Velma was being a little too frank for his liking.

"OK. Fine. Sure."

He walked out and Velma glanced over at me.

"Someone's touchy today…"

I nodded.

"Out of bed on the wrong side, probably. You know the saying."

"Mm."

It was then, just as we exchanged rolled eyes and giggled with each other that the Chewsome Twosome made their entrance, back from the pizzeria and loaded with about twenty giant pizzas, all of which filled the house with their pungent smell and drowned out even my perfume. I made a mental note to spray the entire house with air freshener as soon as the pizzas were eaten, maybe sooner.

"Guys! How much did all that cost?"

Shaggy laughed.

"Like, you know the guys at the pizzeria- after we solved that Rogue Delivery Ghost mystery for them, they've lowered the prices so far that, like, they're almost paying us to eat their pizzas!"

Scooby gave his trademark laugh.

"Ruh-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"

Velma stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"We saved their business so that you could bankrupt them? Guys, I don't think so. Have a little consideration!"

They had the grace to look a little guilty.

"Rorry…"

"It doesn't matter, anyway," Velma continued, "well, not right now. We're going to Minnesota, we just got a new mystery."

"Rew rysrery?"

"Yes, Scooby, a new mystery."

"Ruh roh…"


	2. Chapter 2

A day later and we were travelling towards the house Kristina had given us directions for and thinking it would be a routine mystery.

Everything was normal. We had the kit in the van and Fred was driving. Velma was talking about what she'd found out about chimeras, but I wasn't listening. I was thinking about what Kristina would be like.

Fred and I had recently got together after weeks of hedging round the subject and awkward glances at one another and we couldn't be happier. But Fred had proven he was capable of having feelings for other girls while we were together, with Lena on Moonscar Island, and I was worried that something would happen with this Kristina and he would fall in love with her instead. I edged closer to him and put my hand on his arm, whispering in his ear, "Do you think Shag and Scoob deserve a lunch break, Freddy?"

He nodded, picking up the hint that I needed to talk to him, and we pulled over at a pizza restaurant next to the freeway.

Velma went in and ordered, so that we could keep the cost away from the thousands, and nodded at us to go outside. I smiled at her and took Fred's hand, pulling him out of the doors and onto the grass around the restaurant.

"So. What's so important, Daph?"

His voice was calm, relaxed; for a second I wondered why I was so uptight. He was more than capable of being faithful to me.

"Um…"

"C'mon, Daph, the guys'll be out soon. Spill."

I put my arms right round him and whispered in his ear.

"I'm scared that you're going to fall in love with Kristina and leave me when we've only just got together."

I had learned from bitter past experience that Fred preferred it if I got straight to the issue, and with something as sensitive as this I thought it would be best if I did. He smiled calmly and put his arms round me, holding me tight back, and I snuggled into his chest, glad that he wasn't massively angry or anything like that.

The he relaxed his grip and looked straight into my eyes.

"I promise I won't. I don't want a repeat of- Lena- any more than you do."

He lowered his voice as he said her name, and I guessed there was still a little heartache surrounding that subject. His eyes darkened as he said it as well. I pressed myself against him, so thankful that he was determined to be faithful to me.

I guess I mean more to him than I give him credit for.

The door of the restaurant opened just as I hugged him again, and Velma walked out carrying three pizza boxes and Shaggy and Scooby walked out with two each and looking very disgruntled.

"I got you guys your normal flavours," she murmured, putting the boxes down and spreading out the picnic rug on the grass. I checked mine- due to a little childhood incident with pizza (that may be related to Shaggy and Scooby) I don't eat any pizza except mozzarella. Yep, that was my one, and Fred's sat next to it, a Hawaii pizza. I smiled. Velma pays more attention to the rest of us than I'd thought…

Today was a total morning of revelation. I felt so good as I leaned against Fred, eating my pizza and joking with the others in the sunshine, his arm round my stomach and my body pressed against his, and Velma and Shaggy shooting each other these little fond looks that I remembered giving and receiving in the early stages of my relationship with Fred. Fred had promised that he wouldn't fall in love with Kristina, no matter how pretty or gorgeous or charming she was. Well, not in those words, but that's what he'd meant.

Oh, everything seemed so blissful, it really did. But if I'd known what was to come in the days ahead of us, I wouldn't have carried on to Kristina's. I would have forced Fred to turn back, tying him up in the back of the van if necessary despite my love for him, and put Velma in there as well if she protested. Shaggy and Scooby would have been more than willing to drive back to Ohio.

But no. Fate was unkind to us. We carried on, standing up as the pizzas vanished and throwing the empty, greasy boxes in the bin on our way back to the van. Halfway there we realized the rug was still on the grass so Fred went back to get it. I was happy, happy that I was with my friends, happy that we were on our way, about to solve another mystery.

Fred's promise was there, and Kristina's directions were in the back of the van, and we were suckers. Suckers to the power of the heavens, fate, and overall Kristina. We didn't know what she would be. We didn't know that this would be worse than Moonscar Island. Ten times worse. At least there we caught the bad guys and they were dead within the week.

Oh, looking back is a wonderful thing.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry this was delayed, and there won't be another chapter for a little while (I've got a friend coming round for a sleepover) but I will get more on ASAHP (as soon as humanly possible). Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

The little house stood in front of us, slightly ugly and foreboding, but not the kind of house we normally find ourselves near. The notice at the gate said that it belonged to a Ms Kristina Colfer, and Fred walked up and rang the doorbell, taking his finger away from it quickly as the door opened.

Kristina (I assumed) stood on the doorstep, smiling at us. She had long, thick hair, raven-black in colour, and gentle hazel eyes that somehow seemed too perfect to be true. Her skin was not quite flawless, but almost, with a couple of blemishes that could be covered up by make-up. She was pretty, but not gorgeous. Her hair reminded me of Lena's too much, and I fixed my eyes on her hands as she shook Fred's. One look at his face was enough. In his eyes, I knew, Kristina didn't hold a candle to me; her resemblance to Lena didn't help.

"Come in, it's cold out."

We took the invite and stepped over the threshold, onto a slightly faded mat which said "WELCOME". Kristina kicked an empty cereal box out of the way and led us through to the lounge, in which a boy lounged fittingly on the couch, his arms draped casually over the side and his eyes on the TV, which was showing a documentary on mythological creatures. Kristina rolled her eyes at us.

"He's mad keen on mythology… This is my brother, Mastanje. Mastanje, could you turn the TV off for a moment, they've arrived."

Mastanje turned, a grin showing on his face. He had the same hair as his sister, dark and thick, and it framed his face in waves. His eyes were an oh-so-perfect blue, and I hated how precise and clinical the siblings' eyes were. It didn't seem real, but then again, sometimes Fred's eyes didn't seem real and I knew it was me being silly.

"Unusual name, Mastanje," Velma commented, sitting down. Mastanje returned her smile.

_Don't you fall for him, Velma… You have Beau waiting at home…_

Mastanje gave her a slightly flirty smile, and I moved closer to Fred, wanting my guy there. He put his arm round my waist briefly, then withdrew it and listened as Mastanje gave his answer.

"My mother- my mother and Kristina's- was Croatian. Mastanje is the name for an antelope- she named me that because I was so thin as a child. Skinny like an antelope, she said. Then she died and left me and Kristina to battle our own way. Kristina's name was from our Brazilian father."

Something about Mastanje's tale didn't seem completely credible to me, and I decided to try translating Mastanje into English from Croatian some time. Velma didn't seem to be having such qualms; she smiled and said something about how unique the name was. I wished I was sitting next to her so I could elbow her in the ribs and stop her, but Mastanje stood up and walked into the kitchen just then. Kristina smiled at his back.

"He has a bit of a dodgy stomach right now. Normally at this time of day, he would be out in the garden tending his flowers and his vegetable patch."

I glanced out of the murky window and was greeted with the sight of the said flowers and veg patch. I recognised jasmine flowers and some kind of ivy that I didn't know, since my name wasn't Velma Dinkley.

"Anyway," Mastanje said, walking back in and plumping down on the couch next to Velma, giving her a casual smile. My eyes narrowed again, and I wondered if Mastanje would pick up on my tense profile. He didn't, but Fred did; he turned to Kristina and asked if we could go out into the garden or something. Kristina waved us to the door and Fred half-pulled me out, leaving Velma and Shaggy and Scooby in the lounge with Kristina and Mastanje.

"What is it? You were giving that guy death glares in there. I know he's flirting with Velms, but that can't be your only reason. Why do you hate him? You've only just met him."

He slipped his arm round me again, and I held onto him, shivering a little. The garden was cold.

"I don't know, Freddy. Call it my women's intuition, and don't roll your eyes at me like that. Have you noticed how- perfect- their eyes are? Kristina's and Mastanje's. It's like they're plastic. I don't get it, normal eyes aren't like that. Their eyes are like solid blocks of colour. It's too creepy."

Fred sighed.

"Daph, I get the feeling it's more them wearing faulty contacts or their eyes just being that way than them hiding something. Just ignore it, you see people with eyes like theirs all the time. I don't really like eyes like that either, but they're our clients and we're just solving the mystery for them."

I felt a little relieved that he said he didn't like their eyes. His had been studying mine as he said it, which had served as a little reminder of his promise.

"Come on, it's getting way too cold; let's go inside and hear more about what's been happening."

I nodded and followed him into the little house, back into the lounge with the others.

But the feeling just wouldn't go away.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the delay, we just got our new computer and it doesn't have Word on it so I'm using my old one and it's very slow… I've also had a friend over and after that I had to set up the new PC which took AGES. :L Aaaaanyway, here's chapter 4, so read, enjoy and REVIEW! Jazzola

Kristina was explaining about the strange happenings in the town, and we listened carefully to the details, which seemed to be very precise. I was still a little nervous and creeped out by them, so I avoided eye contact, looking down at Fred's arm instead. Mastanje kept looking over at Velma, who blushed whenever they made eye contact. I would have poked her, only there was Fred in between us so I couldn't.

"The chimera is a creature that is part goat, part lion and part serpent. There is always conflict with the chimera because of the three conflicting personalities; the goat is determined, the lion is vicious and the serpent is wily. The three parts are forever arguing, so the chimera never knows peace. It terrorizes settlements, villages like ours and any others. It has attacked three times here. The only reason the chimera attacks is because of its inner nature; the three animals that make up the chimera are very different, but they all want to destroy and so the chimera destroys whenever it gets the chance. The chimera can use the flame breath from the lion's head, the poison from the snake's fangs and the deadly hooves of the goat to kill. So far there have been eight victims of the chimera in the village, three elderly couples living in the lanes over there (she waved a hand vaguely to one side of the house) and a young boy who was out playing. Their funerals have been held, it's been a few days since the chimera struck."

I looked round the room as I listened, and saw some contact cases on the coffee table; maybe Fred was right and they wore contacts to make their funny eyes.

"Maybe we should go and have a look at the houses of those people; were they killed in their houses?" Fred asked. Normally Velma would have said that, but she was too busy blushing after a huge grin from Mastanje. He elbowed her (she needed it) and she came back to herself.

"Freddy's right, let's go and have a look."

Kristina nodded.

"They were all found in their houses except for the little boy, he was found in his back yard. The police will probably let you in."

"If they don't, like, can we just go home?" Shaggy asked in a last-ditch attempt to lose this spooky and definitely serious mystery. I was beginning to have my doubts as well; if this creature had killed seven people, who was to say it wouldn't have a go at killing four teens and a dog?

"We'll be fine," Fred said, although he sounded less than confident.

"You will be," Kristina said. "The chimera hates the light. It attacks at night, so people don't see it until-" she gave a delicate little shudder "-it's too late."

Shaggy gulped, and at his feet, Scooby whined.

"OK then," Velma said, standing up. "Let's have a look at the house before it gets dark and we become the chimera's next snacks."

"Like, d-d-d-did you have to s-s-s-say that?" Shaggy quavered, hugging Scooby as the Great Dane leapt up into his arms. Fred and I exchanged looks and walked out after Velma, who had already left the room. After a little hesitation, they followed, not wanting to be left behind.

Fred started the van as they leapt into it and we started driving to the lane Kristina had pointed out. It was hard to find it- the village was so spread out it was five miles away- but it was obvious when we got there. It was swarming with police.

"Oh, Mystery Inc.," one of the officers said, directing us to the officer in charge of the investigations. "I heard the rumours that it was some sort of creature that killed them, a really weird far-out one."

"A chimera," Velma said, nodding. Her cheeks were still vaguely red. I wished I could wipe away her blushing and stop her in her tracks; was she cheating on Beau? They were sort of going out together- not like me and Fred, not officially, but they had had a couple of dates and they were really into each other. It wasn't like Velma to cheat on someone, especially someone she liked as much as Beau; I reckon their shaky start was what made them so close.

"A what? Never mind, I'd better take you along so's you can get along with your investigation," the officer said, beckoning to us with one skinny finger. He was so skinny it seemed as though a gust of wind would blow him away, a similar build to Shaggy.

We walked after him obediently, and he walked into a forensics tent and called for someone, who walked out with him after a second. From what I could see, he was fairly broad-shouldered, with dark hair and thick glasses, but his body was swathed in a forensics suit so I couldn't really tell that much.

"You're Mystery Inc.?" he asked, shaking our hands after pulling off the gloves of the suit. His hands were rough and broad, matching the lines on his face and his wide smile. Instinctively you trusted this guy.

"I'll let you look around, as long as you don't touch anything crucial to the case. Officer Palmer here can take you into the first house. We don't have any spare forensics suits so please be careful. If you find something, call. We need to know. OK? Thanks."

He tossed a bunch of keys to Officer Palmer, who turned walked towards the first house.

The sun went down a notch.


	5. Chapter 5

The house was neat, ordered, quaint. A little Chinese dragon made of topaz stood on a polished French dresser next to the dining table, which was neatly situated next to the counters. The couple who owned the house had been murdered in the lounge. As soon as we went in we were greeted with blood-coated walls and floors and another forensics tent.

"This is, like, too creepy," Shaggy said, clinging once again to Scooby and staring round with wide eyes. Fred knelt down and looked at a faint mark on the floor.

"Do you think the people who lived here wore trainers with "X RULZ" printed on the soles?" he asked. Velma looked doubtful, but Officer Palmer interrupted.

"They didn't. I knew them- very staunch, upright Christian people, very believing in dressing right. And they had no family either, so no grandchild or child to make those marks. You must have good eyesight, sir, we completely missed that."

He walked over and made up a barrier around the footprint. Fred smiled.

"No, you just get used to looking for small things in our trade."

Officer Palmer smiled, and Velma laughed quietly. The sound reverberated off the crimson-streaked walls and she fell silent almost immediately. It felt wrong somehow, laughing in the room where the brutal and bloody murders had taken place.

"I'll get the camera and take a picture of that."

Officer Palmer left the room and returned a little while later with the camera. As he took the picture a klaxon-like sound went off and the gang jumped, but Officer Palmer was clearly used to the sound from the way that he simply looked round after snapping the picture of the footprint.

"That's the signal to get out. Whoever or whatever's striking is doing it at night, and we can do without police casualties; it's the end of our working day anyway. Come on, you guys need to leave as well."

I agreed with him, but Fred looked stubbornly round.

"We only just got here!"

A tiny amount of the whining little boy he once was snuck into his voice, in his tone, and I smiled at it, recognising it. Shaggy and Scooby were already at the door. Velma looked over at them, then round at Fred, then to Officer Palmer, her own eyes pleading, big and brown behind her glasses.

"Maybe just five more minutes, Officer Palmer?"

Fred looked at him hopefully, but the officer shook his head.

"No way, guys. We want this wrapped up as well, and we don't want one of you to be injured; it wouldn't help the case at all. Sorry, but unless you move out I'll have to arrest you, even though you are helping us."

His hand jingled the handcuffs hanging on his belt. Fred sighed.

"OK. We'll go. Thanks for letting us in."

I frowned; when Fred does his whine it normally means that he is determined, not about to give up even if he's threatened with being arrested. The submission was way too quick. He had a plan.

We walked behind him back to the van, then he turned back to us, a glint in his eye.

"Go hide in the bushes. We'll wait for the police to go past, and then we'll go back in."

"Brilliant!" Velma hissed. Shaggy and Scooby exchanged glances that clearly said "no way man".

"Like, Freddy, there's a reason why they wanted us out, man!"

"We'll be perfectly safe," Velma replied, turning away with Fred to peer around at the police. I was feeling halfway between the two groups; nervous that the chimera might strike again, but wanting to carry on with the investigation.

"We'll be careful, guys," I whispered to them. Inspiration then struck and I pulled the small box from my purse, seeing the eyes of both chickens widen.

Time for the old line…

"Will you do it for a Scooby Snack?"


	6. Chapter 6

As soon as we were inside the house again (after bribing Shaggy and Scooby with the entire box _and _another one) we split up. I went with Fred to search the upstairs, and Velma went off with Shaggy and Scooby to have a look in the kitchen and such. They were avoiding the lounge so that when the police went in in the morning they wouldn't know we'd been in there.

The upstairs was almost pristine; a little dust, but not much, and it felt like the people living there were still there somehow. I knew they weren't, it was just me being fanciful, but at the same time I held onto Fred's arm hard as we walked round. He was trying not to tremble, I could feel it, but he wasn't quite succeeding as he was shaking a little. I didn't mind trembling, but my knees turned to jelly as I saw a bloody handprint on the wall and I had to sink onto the floor. Fred sat down next to me and put his arms round me.

"You OK?" he murmured, holding me close. I turned my head away from the handprint, burying it into his chest so I couldn't see it. It looked more like a child's hand than an adult's one, but what child could possibly have the motive to kill this couple, especially as the couple had no family so the child couldn't even be a relation?

"C'mon, we got to keep searching," Fred whispered, gently pulling me up. I felt nauseous at the sight of the handprint, and Fred pulled a pen from his jacket and wrote a quick note on his own hand: _tell police about handprint_.

"We better go downstairs; we're running out of time."

I guessed he was conscious of the time and our safety as well, and nodded, but I had to lean against him as we went down.

There was a scream from the kitchen and we rushed in to see Shaggy and Scooby staring wide-eyed at the window and Velma crouched behind the table, holding onto the rail of the oven hard. It was so unlike her that she was the first person we moved to comfort.

"Velms, what happened?" Fred asked, gently helping her to her feet. She clung to him instead. I had no problem with it, we held onto each other on a regular basis and we lived in the same house. I walked over to comfort Scooby and put my arm round Shaggy; we were the only two who weren't creeped out of their senses, so we had to help the ones who were.

"There were… two faces… at the window… it was… _them!_" Shaggy gasped, his eyes like huge hazel orbs in his face. He was trembling so hard he had to fall back against the kitchen table, and Scooby was whining and whimpering and almost beside himself with fright. I'd never seen him that scared before, not even on Moonscar Island. He had somewhere in control, but not now.

The universal cure, a Scooby Snack, was produced for them, but they were still trembling so hard they blurred after eating them. Something really bad had happened.

"It was… it was them… the people who were murdered here… their faces… only they were eyeless… and their faces were white… and they had no hair…" Velma managed to get out. Fred and I exchanged looks. Ghosts? Who knew?

"I think we should get out of here," Fred said quietly, turning to look towards the guys and me. "Something's telling me we need to go."

I stared at him.

"Something's telling you we need to go? What's telling you? Instinct? Intuition?"

"I don't know, Daph, but we shouldn't be here anyway- let's go, come on. I can't explain how I know, but I know that something's going to happen if we don't go and soon."

He looked almost as freaked out as the others now. Feelings that aren't recognisable throw anybody, but people as determinedly logical as Fred gets it worst. He and Velma are always the ones who are worst affected by stuff like that. Then again, with all the stuff that had been happening in the place I was inclined to agree with him.

"OK. Let's go."

We walked out of the kitchen together, with Velma still holding onto Fred (I was beginning to wonder if she really needed that much care…) and me holding onto the chow pair to make sure they didn't faint. Well, I say chow pair; chicken pair would be more apt there.

There was a rushing sound at the door, like a heavy, hot blast of air. Velma shrieked, I screamed, Fred yelled, Shag and Scoob started whimpering together.

A huge, slit-like green eye appeared through the frosted glass on the door. It was so much clearer than I would have expected through the glass, which was purpose-built to obscure as much image as possible. The eye was as sharp as it would have been if I'd been on the other side of the door.

"Come out and play-ay…"

The voice was gleeful, playful, and laced with poison. It had a slightly serpent-like sound to it, and I almost dropped the guys as I realised what this meant.

We were nearly face to face with the chimera.

And only with a flimsy wooden door in between.

What was the bet that we wouldn't get out of this alive…

A/N: I know, cliffhanger! Normally I hate them, but I'm in a cliffhanger mood today so I wanted one… :P I'll get the next chapter up ASAHP, until then please please review (I love reviews more than some of my relatives- only kidding, but it's a close thing!) and keep tuned! Jazzola


	7. Chapter 7

"Come out, come ou-out… I can seeee you!"

_The jerk,_ I thought. But on the outside I was paralysed with fright. I clutched Shaggy and Scooby with one hand and grabbed Fred with the other. His eyes were comically wide as he stared at the door, but now wasn't the time for that.

"We'll go out the back!" I gasped, and Shaggy and Scooby stood up and started running. Velma followed them, almost as jumpy as they were after what they'd seen in the kitchen; Fred and I followed, also eager to get out of here. Fred's plan had gone very sour and it was crucial that we should get out there ASAP.

"I wouldn't try that… That's si-lly…"

None of us missed a beat, we just kept on going.

Shaggy ripped the door open and looked round nervously. Just for a second it seemed as though we were safe and the chimera was at the front of the house.

And then it leapt down lightly in front of us, pacing smoothly on two lion paws and two goat hooves, the tail that was the serpent swaying lazily, almost hypnotic. The goat's head glared at us, the lion gave a snarl that showed massive ivory teeth off to their most frightening, and the serpent opened its mouth wide and yawned, giving us a flash of sabre-like fangs filled with acid green poison. The three conflicting natures were there, with one mission: to kill.

"Let us go!" Velma yelled to it, trying to buy us some time. "We never did anything to you!"

The lion's sneer widened. The goat brayed sharply. The serpent's long, thin tongue slid out between its lips and licked them slowly, relishing the gesture.

"We have one mission," it said, flicking the tongue as it spoke.

"To kill!" whinnied the goat, throwing its horns back and letting the light catch them, making them two long curves of blindingly brilliant and extremely concentrated light.

"To destroy!" growled the lion, pawing at the ground impatiently.

"And to bite," the serpent hissed, baring the huge fangs it boasted once again. I flinched away from them and the serpent's eyes widened patronisingly.

"Are you scared, mortals? I am not. I am not mortal. I will never die… But I kill for my living. I murder any who are near and any who dare step in my path. That includes the meddling kids, I am afraid."

The lion stepped forwards, but the goat was already moving; the chimera was almost bent in half, almost looking comic. The serpent hissed at their incompetence, leaning forward and biting the rear of the goat where it melted smoothly into the back of the lion. Both roared with annoyance and swerved round.

We took the chance and started running.

"Get them, you fools! Get them! Get the kids!" the serpent screamed, and the heads of the two animals melted into one turned, but I only glimpsed the movement; I was already halfway back through the house and running for the relative safety of the van. Shaggy and Scooby got there first, and Fred swung in one liquid motion into the seat and rammed the keys into the ignition. I prayed the engine would start as I slammed my door behind Velma, and to my immense relief it did, choking into life and thrusting the van forwards with considerably more force than I would have expected from our old van.

Behind us, the chimera bounded along the road, the hooves and paws now working smoothly together to bring the chimera up level with us. The lion turned its head and roared fire at the side of the van, shattering the window and burning Velma's cheek and head. She yelped and threw herself into the back of the van with Shaggy and Scooby, who were huddled behind the seats, and Fred swung the wheel round so forcefully I was thrown right back with them. I picked myself up to hear the roar of the disappointed creature as the van gained on it, and then Fred swerved again and again and we were thrown this way and that as he tried to lose the chimera. After what felt like a lifetime for the poor people in the back (Fred wasn't driving as nicely as I would have liked) he stopped and threw open the doors at the back.

"Quickly, guys, get out. We're at Kristina's place. We got to hide before the chimera finds us again."

We quickly obeyed, not wanting another run-in with the chimera, and threw ourselves up the path towards Kristina's front door.

Kristina opened the door as we approached it, and beckoned us to come inside quickly, her eyes round with panic.

"Hide, hide. Quickly!"

We didn't need to be told twice. The chimera's roar resounded through the streets and we scurried through the house into the guest bedroom, leaping into the beds and hiding under the duvets. After what could easily have been an eternity of hiding, Kristina came through and called, "It's OK. It's gone."

Shaggy and Scooby only poked their heads out, but the rest of us got out of the beds and checked the window hesitantly, ready to leap back if we so much as glimpsed the chimera. Kristina was right. It was gone.

There was a slight bang from one of the bedrooms, and then the sound of someone walking along the hallway. Mastanje, dressed in dark blue pyjamas and (I admit) looking pretty alluring, poked his head round.

"What's happened?"

Kristina gave him a look.

"The chimera, Mas. That's what happened."

Mastanje whistled.

"I see."

I backed away from the window and almost as soon as I did, I swooned. I was so tired the room began spinning and Fred had to rush forwards and grab me.

Then the blackness covered my vision and I knew no more.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up lying on my bed, with Fred and the guys fussing over someone who sat on a stool next to the window, with half her brown hair missing and angry, scorched burns over half her face.

Oh my goodness! What had happened to Velma?

I sat up so quickly I became dizzy. Fred looked over, running his hand over his face as he did so. He looked exhausted; I could tell he hadn't slept.

"Hey, Daph. Could you give us a hand with Velms? We're putting cream on the burns on her face, and we need more sets of hands, but Kristina and Mastanje went out to the store."

I nodded and stood up as the room stopped moving around me. Velma looked at me with only her eyes; I guessed moving her head might well be painful.

"What happened to her?"

"She got caught by the fire from the chimera; it burned her hair and eyebrow off and her skin's pretty bad as well. I don't think they're bad enough for her to need to go to hospital."

"My self-diagnosis is that I don't need a hospital and that with help from the rest of the gang I'll be fine," Velma said, taking care not to move her mouth too much. I took the tube of cream from Fred as he sat down on a chair, completely drained of energy and yawning.

"You get some sleep or you'll pass out," I told him, starting to smear the cream onto Velma's scorched skin. She winced, but kept her face as straight as possible, which I guessed wasn't hard, since she was facing a mirror and looked a sight with half her hair gone and her missing eyebrow. Had someone put a divider in the middle of her face she would have had one half normal and one half similar to someone who had decided to shave for charity, except that her skin looked more like something out of Alien, mottled and red.

"I'll be fine," Fred yawned, passing his hand over his face again, but I took a break from Velma and put my hands on his arms, pulling him up and leading him over to his bed. He didn't resist, just lay down and closed his eyes. You know someone's really, really tired when they simply close their eyes and fall asleep, and that's what Fred did then; as soon as his eyes were closed he was out. He looked sweet, although that was hardly the time for such thoughts.

"Hey, Daph- sorry to break you out of your reverie, but could you get the cream on so I can get bandaged and get some sleep? I'm tired too!"

I smiled apologetically and walked over to her, daubing more cream on.

"Now is a good time to talk about the mystery, anyway," Velma added as I kept working. Shaggy and Scooby, who had been watching from their joint bed, walked over and picked up the second tube of cream, helping me cover the side of Velma's face in the stuff.

"Any suspects yet, Velms?"

Velma began to shake her head, winced and opened her mouth instead.

"No, nobody. We need to have more of a look around, but now's not the time, it's three in the morning."

"Really?"

I tweaked the curtain and looked out. She was right.

"OK. Today we'll go back. I'll persuade Freddy to admit about what we did last night. We found another clue, anyway; there was a bloody handprint on the wall upstairs, in the bedroom, and it looked like it belonged to a child rather than an adult, it was really small. We should have a look in the other houses too, we've only looked in the one."

Shaggy and Scooby sighed.

"Like, looking in that one was bad enough, especially when we saw the- the- the faces…"

Scooby whined and pressed himself against Shaggy's legs, nearly knocking the skinny boy over with his weight. Shaggy staggered and put a hand out to steady himself, leaning against the wall.

"Like, zoinks, man, do you have to do that, Scoob?"

"Rorry…"

I finished the cream off and picked up the reel of bandages from the table Fred had set up next to Velma, which had the tubes of cream, her glasses and the bandages on.

"OK, I'm going to bandage you up now, Velms. How would you do this?"

"Wind the bandages vertically instead of horizontally, and it doesn't matter about covering my eye and mouth, OK?"

"Is your eye OK?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Not that I'd notice if it was that much worse. Come on, we need to get going on this mystery."


	9. Chapter 9

At midday we met up in the kitchen with Kristina and Mastanje.

"We're going to go back at midnight and see if we can lure the chimera out," Fred said, refreshed from sleeping and determined that the chimera would be caught today. I was also determined, but Fred was throwing himself headfirst into this and I thought we needed more caution. The others shared my view.

"We need more caution than that, Freddy," Velma said quietly, motioning to her bandaged head and face. We had spent a couple of hours on the bandage, assuring that it kept the cream in and that it was comfortable and that it didn't slip off and that it covered all of the area that had been burnt. "Unless you want to become half-bald as well."

Fred smiled at the joke, but started to outline his plan quickly before we could change our minds.

"We lure the chimera out and we use fire extinguishers to stop it using its flame breath. If the serpent head tries to bite us, we'll be wearing chain mail under our clothes so that's useless. I found some chain mail left over from a previous mystery in the van. If the goat tries to stamp on us or spear us, we'll just have to move quickly, but the chain mail'll stop us being gored. Then we lure it out onto a net and use a crane to hoist the net up. Simple, and we're not singling anyone out as bait either. It'll be quick and we'll be able to find out who's behind all this."

It seemed a good plan to me, especially with all the precautions Fred was suggesting we take. Normally the plans are a little risky for all involved, and this one was no different, but it was a good plan however you looked at it. And I couldn't think how else we might be able to catch a chimera.

"I guess it's the best we can do," Velma said, standing up. "We'll start getting ready, I'll get the chain mail out of the van with Shag and Scoob. Come on, guys, you're helping whether you want to or not. This is a team effort."

Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other.

"Like, we've decided we're going in the crane and you guys can lure the chimera," Shaggy said quickly, seeing the look on Velma's face (well, half-face).

"I thought you guys were scared of heights, Shag?" I asked innocently.

"Like, we are," Shaggy replied, "but we're more scared of chimeras!"

"Oh brother," Velma groaned, opening the door and pulling them out of it.

For the rest of the day we were busy getting the plan into action, cutting the chain mail into vests and pants to fit us and allow for a lot of movement (I knew we would look like goons wearing them and checking myself in the mirror trying them on I wasn't disappointed), going out to hire the crane from a local company and getting enough heavy-duty, fireproof rope to make the net to keep the chimera in. Then we went out to the houses and persuaded the police to let us try our scheme in the middle of the street where seven murders had taken place.

"Are you kids crazy?" was their initial reaction. I can't blame them; whenever we try explaining our plans to our families or friends outside the gang we end up sounding like idiots.

They did come round after a lot of persuasion, including Fred's promise of a new clue for the police. He showed them the bloody handprint on the upstairs wall, which they hadn't noticed for some reason.

"But it's in plain sight," Fred said, staring at Officer Palmer. He went and asked the police officers who had searched the house, and they told him that they hadn't seen the handprint at all.

"We'll just examine it now," Officer Palmer said, looking bemused and shaking his head. The other officers looked equally confused.

"I'm certain it wasn't there before," one of them murmured as he took a photo of it. Another took a swab from the palm of the handprint, also saying that he'd never seen it before.

"We would've seen it," they said to the gang, "something as obvious as this."

Eventually, though, the trap was set up and everything was ready to roll. The police had gone home, all except Officer Palmer and the officer in charge of the investigations, Sergeant Braithwaite.

"Now we just lure him here," Fred said, and we walked out from the bushes, clanking slightly. The sound was mostly muffled by our clothes, but if you listened carefully it was still there. Amazingly, the chain mail was hidden by our clothing, and we looked normal enough; I had been anticipating looking something like some of the monsters we've chased in the past. We had the fire extinguishers in our hands and we were ready to signal to Shaggy and Scooby when the time came. They had fought their fear and were up in the crane cockpit, with their hands/paws on the lever to "hoist the chimera high and dry", as Fred had phrased it.

We were ready in every aspect for the plan.

But we weren't ready for what came next.

A/N: What a cliffhanger! You will have to come back and find out what happened now, you are powerless to resist… You are also powerless to resist the little button below saying "Review this Story/Chapter". You must press it… You must… Come on, brighten a girl's day! Keep tuned, there's more to come. Thanks to Swamp Fairy for her comments and guess at the plot… Jazzola


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger! If you haven't yet reviewed, DO SO. I need those reviews to keep me going… Please? Pretty please with a Scooby Snack on top? Although read to the end of the story first! Jazzola

"Come on, chimera… Come find us… Hey!"

The fire extinguishers were jerked from our hands by multiple people, and we swerved round simultaneously, looking at our attackers.

They were the people who had been attacked. Eyeless, with skin so pale it was almost white, and with completely blank expressions. Their hands were so cold they sent shivers up and down my skin.

But maybe that wasn't their temperature…

They stood there, crooked and bent, like the zombies on Moonscar Island, with their empty eye sockets and vacant expressions, so horrifying and yet so tragic at the same time, and easily worse than the zombies on Moonscar Island. They stood behind us, two to each person, holding the extinguishers with both hands. The little boy, a previously sweet child with a thick thatch of dark hair and a smattering of freckles on his cheeks, stood in front of us, having snuck up while we were distracted.

A silhouette walked up behind them and into the light, smiling, eyes glowing red and completely unnatural.

It was Kristina.

"You!" I yelled.

Kristina smiled, stroking her hair coyly, not at all shy or alarmed, completely at ease. Her black dress, as dark as death, fluttered in a light breeze, although the area was completely devoid of wind at all. Her hair seemed to stir in the same wind. Her skin was so pale it could have belonged to a corpse.

"Me."

She raised her hand and the people- zombies? Whatever they were- dropped the extinguishers onto the tarmac.

"Good. Now apprehend them."

The people moved forwards and we struggled in their grasp. They were trying to tie us up with ropes from the pockets of their ragged clothing, and although their limbs were shaky and not really co-ordinated they were stronger than they looked.

"Subdue them by any means," Kristina called. Her eyes, which I was right to suspect (so there, Freddy Jones!), were glowing even more, harsh and bloodthirsty.

How did she control these creatures? What had happened to them to make them like this?

"What are they?" I cried, struggling hard against my assailants. They were the youngest couple there, from the looks of it, in their late fifties or early sixties, and they were much scarier close up; their rotting skin hung from their faces in clumps, giving their faces up to nature and showing their skulls. I could hardly bear to look at them, and tried desperately to stop myself from vomiting, but it wasn't working. I doubled up onto the pavement and retched my food out, tears streaming down my face and falling onto the pool of vomit now on the tarmac.

"They are dead bodies, enchanted by me to obey me, as I am an enchantress," Kristina said coldly, her eyes flashing at me. We struggled harder against the people and I managed to half-free myself.

"Looks like we need more helping hands," Kristina said, silky smooth, and she walked forwards to where Officer Palmer and Sergeant Braithwaite were hiding. They both yelled and started running.

"Leaving so soon?"

Kristina raised her hands and the branches on two trees reached out and wrapped themselves around the fleeing men, throwing them back to land at Kristina's feet. They both tried to scramble up, but Kristina put her hands on their shoulders and pulled their faces towards hers, opening her mouth to reveal jagged rows of crimson fangs, stained with blood.

Then she buried the fangs deep in Sergeant Braithwaite's forehead.

Sergeant Braithwaite screamed, a high, terrible scream, a scream of death in the making, and I screamed with him as he fell to his knees, blood cascading down his front in a scarlet tidal wave and flowing freely onto Kristina's body, onto her dress and marking her skin, dripping from her chest and legs to form a huge puddle on the floor.

Eventually, after what felt like a nightmare lifetime, the man crumpled to the floor, and his breathing ceased. Kristina drew her head up, her lips and chin stained with scarlet gore and her forehead speckled with it. She smiled vampirishly at Officer Palmer, who screeched and tried to run, but her hand sunk onto his shoulder and her teeth penetrated his skin with the deathliness of an assassin.

Almost as soon as the liquid sprayed from his body, Kristina pushed him to the floor, her long fingers holding him down and her glare unforgiving and hateful. From the second that she had caught him, he was a dead man.

After she had finished her work, she straightened up and smiled at us, displaying her mouth to us, hatefully gory and reminiscent of what had just happened. I felt like I was living in one of the 18 movies Fred watched in secret at home.

"Your turn, Mystery Inc.?"

Velma struggled harder, her eye screwed up in effort. Fred tried to kick his captors but only succeeded in toppling over onto the pavement. I tried biting mine and experienced my first mouthful of dead flesh.

And then a new figure appeared.

The saviour? I thought so.

Until it walked into the light.


	11. Chapter 11

Mastanje stepped into the light from the dulled street lamp, smiling at his sister.

"Mastanje. What are you doing here?"

Kristina straightened up and glared at him.

"I told you to remain inside for your transformation!"

_His transformation… into what?_

My heart was beating so fast I felt faint and stars were erupting in front of my eyes. I was almost certain the others could hear it, and when I looked over at Fred for reassurance I could see he was the same way; his eyes were wider and more frightened than I had ever seen them before, panicked and alarmed, like an animal poised for fleeing. I mouthed to him, "Don't panic!" He nodded back at me, his eyes losing a little of their petrified sheen, but not much. Velma was trying to stay calm as well; her chest was heaving under the chain mail as she tried to take deep breaths in the arms of the couple holding her. I didn't know if Kristina had meant it to be that way, but they were the couple from the house we had been investigating, the couple who had spooked her and the guys so much.

That thought suddenly brought up a new thought: where were Shaggy and Scooby?

The question was answered when the crane hook suddenly swung towards Kristina and Mastanje. They both dodged out of the way and looked up at the crane cockpit, in which the pair were trying to hide out of sight.

Kristina lazily raised one elegant, lily-white hand and a huge oak tree at the side of the crane collapsed, falling onto the crane as if in slow motion, heavy and out of all control and so close to certain destruction, and bringing the huge metal construction down with it in a huge cascade of dust and mutilated branches and screeching, tortured metal.

"GUYS!" Velma yelled. Fred was too shocked even to yell for them, and I couldn't, as the couple had put a gag on my mouth. I'm used to gags- how could I not be by now, after the amount of times I've been captured?- but I hate them so much, simply because they take away my speech. I hoped so hard they were OK that I was almost sick again.

And then, as we watched, horror-struck, a brown tail snaked its way out of the wreckage and a snout appeared behind it, closely followed by a pair of very familiar, very trusting and typically hard to resist brown eyes.

"SCOOBY!" Fred cried, recovering his senses and struggling once more against his captors in vain. They pushed him right down onto the tarmac, holding him so tight I reckoned they were cutting off his circulation.

Mastanje smiled, a grim smile, and spoke so harshly and so weirdly we all turned and stared at him.

"Can I now, sister dear? May I live up to my name once more?"

"_Antelope_?" I asked, confused.

Mastanje threw his head back and laughed, his teeth flashing in the light from the moon that was now shining above us. Strangely, it was a full moon, even though we had had one the previous night- how was that possible? I wondered if Velma would have a scientific explanation for it, but when I looked over at her her wide eye told me that she didn't.

"Antelope," Mastanje sneered at me, baring his teeth, and for the first time I noticed how sharp and long they were, hardly human at all. Velma's half-face was so shocked and pale I thought she was going to black out, but Mastanje carried on before she could.

"My name doesn't mean _antelope_. My name is a shortened version of the Croatian phrase prazno maštanje- guess what that means? You, smart Velma? Do you know?"

Velma shook her head, tears beginning to spill from her eyes and staining the bandages and her cheeks. I could feel nothing but pity for her at that moment- she had been betrayed by the guys she liked over and over again, and this time it was going to be no different, only there was a very high chance that there wouldn't be a next time now. Not if Kristina and Mastanje had anything to do with it.

"Well then, let me tell you. Prazno maštanje means-"

He knelt on the tarmac suddenly, cutting himself off, and in seconds he had transformed.

The first thing that came through was the serpent head tail; it ripped through his jeans and spat at us, sending a stream of acid green poison out from its tongue. Mastanje raised his arm and stroked the head of the serpent, and the thing arched its back, inviting his touch. Mastanje put his hand back on the floor just in time for it to become a golden lion paw, sharply clawed with razor-like curves that could rip out the hearts of people and barely feel it. His head trembled, and then distorted, seeming to become a haze of golden-brown and pale human skin before becoming a lion's head, covered with a thatch of bloodstained mane and with fangs so long and deadly that they drew blood from the creature's own lips. The goat's head seemed to but out of his back, as was befitting to its nature, and the monstrous horns caught the light once again, illuminated to their most terrifying, perfectly ridged and ready to take the life of any creature. Mastanje's feet rippled into goat's hooves, like wrecking balls on the ends of the roughly haired rear legs.

"-_chimera_," the serpent head hissed, finishing Mastanje's sentence for him.

Or was the serpent Mastanje?

The three heads glared at us, death in each look, bloodlust in each eye.

"Can I?"

Kristina smiled.

"I have had two more victims," she said silkily, pointing to the sprawled corpses of the two police officers, coated in blood that wasn't coagulating, but was simply lying there, staining the road surface and the bodies but not changing. That freaked me out; it was bad enough that they were dead without the blood that was impossible. "You can have the famous Mystery Inc."

Mastanje's serpent head hissed with delight. The goat head brayed its ecstatic approval, eyes round and red and ready for murder. The lion head threw itself back and roared at the moon, which turned black as he roared, the colour of death

"We have new victims, my friends!" it growled.

It was when the officers got up, in the same state as the couples holding onto us and the little boy, and grabbed Shaggy and Scooby that it hit me with the force of a tsunami.

We were going to die.

A/N: Ooh, another cliffhanger… Keep reading! Jazzola


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This is going back to the beginning again, but I'm still in Daphne's perspective. If you need a refresher of what happened in the first chapter, pop back there quickly, but come back again! Jazzola

The wound on Fred's neck was superficial, but it was quite big. I was worried about the blood he'd lost, but he assured me that he was OK and told me to stop worrying.

"I'm fine, really, Daph. I was just knocked out. I'm fine now."

Velma had finished bandaging Shaggy's arm and was watching as I wound the bandages she'd tossed to me round Fred's neck. He winced a couple of times, and when I tied the bandage too tight he gasped in pain, but he bore it OK.

When we were all bandaged, we applied ourselves to the task that seemed impossible; how could we get out of here, and past a chimera and an enchantress?

"Maybe we could try getting one part of the gang to distract them, and the other part to sneak past them and then distract them, and confuse them enough to get away?" Fred suggested. It was a little far out, but then again, we were desperate, since we were in a basement with two members injured and being guarded by a mythical creature and his enchantress sister who just happened to control seven- no, nine now, poor Officers Palmer and Braithwaite!- dead bodies which had proved themselves capable of subduing us before.

Velma thought for a second.

"Maybe we could try something like that- I don't know. We need to find out what can kill a chimera and what breaks an enchantress's control on the dead bodies she's enchanted. I would ask for the Internet, but I guess we don't have any means of that right now."

"Yeah," Fred said suddenly, making us all turn. He dug in his pocket, under his chainmail (we were still wearing it), and pulled out an iPhone.

"Where did you get an iPhone from, Freddy Jones?" I asked, looking down at the gadget, which gleamed silver in the meagre light from the door. Fred smiled.

"The electronics shop that I robbed, they gave it to me as compensation for pressing charges. It got scratched anyway; they wouldn't have been able to resell it."

**(A/N: This part is from my story "Framed". I recommend you have a look at it if you haven't already, then this'll make sense. Jazzola :) ****)**

Velma took it from him and turned it on, going straight onto the Internet. Thank goodness- there was a wireless network in the house and we could hook up to it! We were overjoyed, and Scooby became so happy he smothered the iPhone in licks.

"Hey, Scoob, watch the phone!" Fred gasped, hurriedly wiping the screen with his cuff. Scooby made an apologetic face.

"Rorry, Reddy…"

Velma stuck her tongue out as she typed into the Google search engine, hoping that the battery was sufficient for a decent search, and eventually found herself on the Wikipedia page for the chimera.

"Wikipedia's come up trumps," she murmured, and Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other and sniggered with inappropriate laughter at the "trumps" part. Velma shook her head at them and pressed a hyperlink on the screen.

"The ways to get rid of a chimera… I've got it! I've got a plan!"

"That's what I do," Fred grumbled, rubbing a hand along his neck morosely. I giggled.

"Sorry, Freddy, you've been usurped."

Velma smiled at him.

"Yep, usurped. Now, listen; this is my plan…"

Another A/N: Sorry this is a short one, but I've got RE revision to do and stuff (hate school!). I promise there'll be more on soon, hopefully tonight, but just bear with me! Thanks for reading and please please please with a Scooby Snack AND a cherry on top review! (Actually, I don't like cherries. Sorry, I'm hyper after my Creme Egg... :P) Jazzola :)


	13. Chapter 13

"Basically, the way to kill a chimera is to spear it with something like a polearm, and to kill it like you would a human," Velma explained. "I hope that maybe we can lay our hands on something like that, but what's in here that we could use against Mast- the chimera?"

Just for a second, her face showed betrayal. Seeing her expression, Fred and I scooted over and hugged her, and Scooby nudged in and licked her face. She calmly took off her glasses and wiped them on Fred's ascot, smiling slightly as he scowled.

"I lost my cleaning cloth, and I need to be able to see, Freddy."

"Fine," he muttered. "Come on, guys, let's have a look around and see what there is in here."

Getting down on our hands and knees, we started searching. I speared my leg on something (typical Danger-Prone Daphne…) and it turned out to be some kind of sharpened pole.

"Huh?"

There was something else there, in the gloom. I narrowed my eyes, trying to make it out, but just then Shaggy walked over and opened it.

His yelp of shock startled all of us.

"Like, guys… You might wanna look at this…"

We all scurried over, and the amazement of what was in the chest was on all our faces.

Weapons! Row upon row of weapons, guns and ammunition, canisters of pepper spray- this was invaluable stuff to us right now. We had everything we needed to get free and get rid of Mastanje the chimera boy and Kristina the enchantress before they could do what they had done to their previous victims to us.

Velma picked out a sharp pole. Shaggy reached in nervously and pulled out one of the pepper sprays. I ran my fingers over the poles as well, but Fred reached in and pulled a pistol out, also taking the ammo for it out at the same time. I looked at him and his face told it all; he didn't want to use the pistol, especially against someone who was a monster but at the same time a human being. I slipped my arm round him and squeezed him as he stared down at the little thing.

"You don't have to use it," I whispered quietly, but he shook his head.

"Yes, I do. We're not going to get out otherwise. If I- if I kill them, then hopefully the guys they killed'll be free and so will we. And I don't see how we can just spear them, since they outnumber us about two to one. I don't want one of you guys to do it and not want to kill them, but just be doing it so I don't have to."

But it was so obvious how he didn't want them dead. At least, not by his hand.

Velma put her hand up to her chin, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Here's an idea. Shaggy will confuse them with the pepper spray, blind them, and then I can go in and stab one of them. I'll take Mast- the chimera."

I smiled.

"Indeed. You have the chimera. What about Kristina?"

"I'll take her," Fred said instantly. "I should. I'm the leader, right?"

I looked at him and for the first time in what felt like decades I saw the man I had fallen in love with with more clarity than ever. A man who was afraid, deep down, but hid it in front of his friends to protect them; a man who would do something as extreme as killing another person to protect them, to get them out safely. I pulled him into a hug, my tears falling onto his shirt, and kissed him in front of them all. He put the gun down on the top of the chest and held me back, his hands in my hair and on my back and arms, not octopus-style, just sweet.

It took me a few seconds to realise that not all the tears falling onto my cheeks were mine.

A/N: Sorry, these chapters are getting shorter and shorter… The next one will be nice and long, I promise! Author's honour (is there such a thing? Oh well)! Jazzola


	14. Chapter 14

"Curse those meddling kids! What are they doing in there? Mastanje, you did take out Father's weaponry chest, didn't you?"

The stunned silence spoke volumes more than words- Mastanje was really regretting his moment of forgetfulness.

"You fool!" hissed Kristina, and there was a thumping sound and a crash of smashing china. "You rotting son of a weakling! May you fester in death for ever!" She walked towards him and kicked him, and he yelped in pain as her foot made contact with his side. Then we heard him scramble up and they began fighting hard, one on one, paying no more attention to us.

Fred simply pushed the hatch up, gently, softly, as far as it would go, and fired a random bullet, gritting his teeth as he did so. The sound the gun made ended the fight, and instead we heard a roar as Mastanje instantly transformed into a chimera again. Velma set her jaw firmly, and wiped away angry, hurt tears from her exposed eye as we walked up.

"Well, well, the famous fools of Mystery Inc. have rejoined us," sneered Kristina, her hand moving to the side of her body and seeming to beckon the enchanted corpses she controlled, who instantly joined her and the chimera standing next to her. "Armed, I see. Oh, the foolishness and naivety of youth… I pity you. Shall we split them between us, chimera boy? I can have the boys, you can have the girls… the little child who fell in love with you… and we'll split the dog between us, maybe even literally."

Scooby whimpered, trying to hide behind Shaggy, who instantly put his hand on the Great Dane's back, trying to calm him. Kristina laughed.

"This is the brave hound of Mystery Inc., the famous Scooby Doo! Quivering behind his owner, his "protector"? Frightened of a little enchantress and a chimera? Is the big doggy fwightened of us? Aw, poor ickle doggy!"

Kristina's eyes narrowed in malice and mocking, and Scooby growled but didn't go any closer. Mastanje laughed through his serpent head, spraying the acid green poison stored in his formidable fangs at poor Scooby.

"Come on then, poochie poochie poochie! Come on then!"

"_Roochie?!_"

That did it. Scooby charged.

Kristina lazily waved a thin white hand, and something knocked Scooby sideways in mid-jump, throwing him violently into a bookcase. I waited for him to stagger to his feet, but he didn't; he just lay there, as still as a corpse.

Oh… goodness…

Was Scooby…

He couldn't be…

No way…

He wasn't…

I couldn't even breathe. Shaggy rushed to him, cradling his large brown head in his arms while Kristina cackled.

"The great dog of Mystery Inc., felled like a shoot of bamboo under the wicked blade of a chainsaw. Where is the bravery of the leader, the intelligence of the young girl, the defiance of the older girl, the speed of the second boy? Gone! Gone, thrown to the heavens by the dog they seemed to love so. Mourn, Mystery Inc… Mourn… Wait… What?"

She turned slowly as we broke out into huge grins.

Behind her stood Scooby Doo. Strong, large, and very, very cheesed off.

"Now would be a good time to run, Kristina!" I jeered as she shrieked. Scooby lunged at her, drawing blood from her seemingly bloodless shoulder.

"I will not be foiled by a _mutt_!"

Scooby growled again.

"Ri ram rot ra rutt!"

I quietly translated in my head- he was saying he wasn't a mutt. Oh dear. Kristina was saying all the wrong things today…

Scooby's teeth slashed her arm, blood spraying like a fountain from the wound he had made, but Kristina wasn't finished yet; she raised her good arm and the bodies on the edges of the room moved forwards, arms raised and ready to take Scooby from us, maybe even kill him as Kristina had failed to do.

Scooby, in a heroic leap I wouldn't have thought possible of him without a Scooby Snack, managed to sail over their heads and land next to Shaggy.

Kristina raised a hand to try and blow him off again, but he had firmly landed by that time. Mastanje roared his disapproval through his lion head and pounced on us, all heads screaming and poised for death…

Then he stopped. Abruptly.

As though he had been speared.

He had.

While Scooby had been distracting them, Velma had dropped her pole. None of us had noticed that it had fallen into a rut on the floor and become stuck there, pointing up.

Mastanje had leapt straight onto it.

The lion raised its head, and looked straight at Velma.

"You would kill me, smart girl?"

Velma just smiled.

"It's the old saying, chimera. Look before you leap."

The lion gave a growl, but it was weak and laboured. The serpent was swaying woozily, almost as though it was drunk, and its eyes were closed. The goat's head had fallen onto the lion's back, and the horns were dulled, their brilliant reflection dim and grey.

One paw reached out and managed to slice at us, but the claws missed. Velma glared at the lion, and the creature's eyes seemed to dim, falling into a black abyss, the abyss of eternal death…

And then the mighty, crimson-streaked eyes closed, and the chimera was still as Kristina's shriek of horror rent the air that the chimera would never breathe again.


	15. Chapter 15

"You… You…"

"We killed him, Kristina," I said calmly. "And you're next."

Kristina's shock-widened eyes, which had turned black with the horror of losing her chimera brother, narrowed dangerously.

"You really think so, meddling kids? My brother was a fool, but I pride myself on being somewhat more intelligent than him…"

She raised her hand- and, next to me, Fred crumpled.

"FREDDY!" I shrieked, throwing myself down to him and opening his eyes with my fingers. He groaned and pushed my fingers away, but I grabbed his hand and looked up at Kristina.

"Why did you do that to him?"

She cackled, evil in every respect. And yet, maybe somewhere, in the middle of that dark cavern, there was a tiny glow-worm tenderness for her deceased brother…

"He's one of you. I don't want him messing up my plans. I can control anyone, you know. Not only my corpses- although they are delightful, don't you think? So helpful for me… Although, of course, none of them exactly volunteered. I did want you lot, but I would rather have vengeance on my brother in the sweetest way possible to an enchantress- simply gaining control of your living bodies when you are weakened, one by one. Then I will have the famous Mystery Inc. torture themselves and their friends, and be unable to do anything about it… Maybe I will have the unfortunate Fred kill his own girlfriend… Or would it be bitterer the other way round?"

I ground my teeth as Fred squeezed my hand gently.

"Leave me," he whispered. "Get her."

But it's ten times harder to actually leave the man you love lying on the floor with his eyes closed and his breathing weak than you imagine it would be. Several times I had had to leave Fred in situations where he was in grave danger before, but nothing like this. Kristina could take him as her slave at any moment.

In the millisecond I thought that, Kristina screwed her pale face up in concentration. Fearing what was happening, I looked down at Fred; he also had his face contorted as he seemed to fight against something that I couldn't see and only he could feel.

Or maybe I could see it…

Kristina staggered for a second, grabbing a bookcase to help herself stand. Fred opened his eyes for a second and looked at her in triumph, and I realised what had happened; he had fought her off, repulsed her attack on him, as she had tried to take control of him and failed. He had won against her, in a battle of wills, and I wondered if maybe that was because of the devotion Fred felt to the gang, and to me.

I guess maybe love is stronger than hate.

I was thinking deep thoughts in those few seconds, but that was just the mood of the room; everything was at stake for us.

Kristina shook out her thick black locks in fury, and dark flicks of electricity flew between the thick strands. Her fists were clenched, her knuckles whiter than white, and her eyes flashed bright blood-red, so angry that her hatred was like an aura round her body. Even I, the fiercest girl I know, stepped back from her wrath.

"So. You have won your small battle, meddling kid. Prepare for me to win the war- or had you forgotten my companions?"

The couples were the first to walk out of the shadows, walking towards us with their haunted, hollow eye sockets and their shambling, untidy walk. The next out was the little boy, whose face by now was disfigured, the chubby cheeks gone and replaced by ivory skull.

And then came the two police officers.

Officer Palmer, the young officer who was so eager to help and protect us, walked with his colleague, the skin beginning to fall and droop and the dark brown eyes that some lucky girl could have melted into gone and replaced by nothingness, the hateful nothingness that they all had instead of the windows to their souls. I wondered for a second if maybe that was the reason their eyes dissolved- because their souls were destroyed- but the thoughts were pushed out of my head when they got close enough for us to smell them, the stench of death and decay that I would only ever smell again in my darkest nightmares. One of the couples began piling on top of Velma, and she fought them as hard as she could; rotting hands tore at her bandage, exposing her eye and her shrivelled, scorched cheek. She used a headlock to get one of them off her and threw him into his wife, and they staggered back into a table. I couldn't help noticing that they left Fred as he lay, slumped on the ground, his eyes closed once again. Kristina had given him up as a lost cause. Unable to conquer him, she had turned her sights to the rest of us.

She walked round the pole that Mastanje was speared on, sighing at the corpse; when he had died, unnoticed by the rest of us as we concentrated on the fight with Kristina, the chimera had turned back into the boy. He was hunched over the pole, both ends stained with dark blue blood. I narrowed my eyes at it, but guessed that the chimera boy wouldn't have the same blood as us.

Kristina walked towards me. Her eyes were so transfixing- I couldn't tear my eyes away- she was invading my soul- my deepest secrets, my most hidden feelings, my wants and fears and hates and loves were bared before her- I was being conquered-

And then she vanished.

A/N: Thanks so much to thebieberbabe and Swamp Fairy for their helpful comments and their general praise- you guys are awesome! Jazzola :)


	16. Chapter 16

We stared round at each other. There had been a little crash, and she had gone. In my hypnotised state, I didn't know what had happened.

"She went through the floor," Velma whispered, crouching down next to the hole cautiously. Shaggy knelt next to her and put his arms round her in case she fell, ready to keep her from joining Kristina below. On the other side of the room, Fred weakly pushed himself up and leaned on the bookcase to keep his balance, and I walked over and put my arms round him. He closed his eyes briefly at my touch, and I leaned up and kissed him, murmuring, "It's OK. She's gone. We beat her!"

Velma gasped from the hole, and next to her Shaggy gasped too. We turned, and saw her shining the light from the iPhone's screen into the hole that Kristina had made.

Cautiously, we walked over, me still holding him in case he should fall or trip or his legs should just give out (he was still weak), and knelt to see the scene.

Kristina was lying on the concrete floor of the basement she had trapped us in. I could see the man trap that we had found in the chest of weapons under her. We hadn't set it, but somehow it had been placed there and set, ready to catch the next victim who chose to step on that weak floorboard…

Velma reached out and started examining the floorboard, and gave a yelp of surprise.

"This floorboard- look at the marks made on it. It's been tampered with so that when someone stepped on it it would break and send them down into the cellar. We didn't do that, did we?"

The rest of us shook our heads in unison. Scooby whimpered next to Shaggy, but we ignored him; we were too busy puzzling over the floorboard and the man trap.

"Rook! Rook!"

"Like, not now, Scoob, buddy…"

"Raggy, Raphne, Reddy, Relma, ROOK!"

We turned.

Standing a few feet away were nine individuals. Two we recognised instantly; Officers Palmer and Braithwaite. The other seven we had seen before; the couples from the houses and the little boy with the dark hair.

But they were no longer enchanted corpses. Now they were ghosts- well, they were translucent, and they had their eyes back, and their skin was intact. They were all smiling at us, the smiles on the officers' faces the warmest. The couples were simply beaming, and the little boy was grinning, but the officers were the warmest.

"Thank you," whispered the wife of one of the couples, the couple whose bodies had scared Velma and Shaggy and Scooby in the kitchen of their house. "You freed us. You saved us, even though you could do nothing to help us physically. You killed them and freed us. We owe you so much." Her spectral eyes were shining, filled with warmth and happiness; even though they were nearly colourless, her cheeks glowed with gratitude. Her husband nodded, also smiling, and put his arm round her.

The two officers moved forwards, also smiling.

"You just solved the mystery, and are we grateful to you kids. Without you, the chimera would have struck again and again and we would all have fallen victim alongside many more innocent people. You couldn't save us, but know that you have saved many others."

"Excuse me, Mystery Inc.?"

The little dark-haired boy stepped forwards, smiling but a little tremulous.

"Can I ask you to do something?"

"What?" Fred asked softly.

"Can you- can you tell my mommy and daddy that I miss them and I love them and I always will?"

And then tears flowed freely down his young, plump cheeks as he bowed his head, trying to control his quivering chin. I wished I could bend down and hug him, but I guessed hugging a ghost might be more complex than it looks. I was starting on the waterworks as well.

"We will," Velma whispered to him. "We promise. We just need your name."

"Keiron," the little boy murmured. "Keiron Hodges."

"We'll tell your mommy and daddy, Keiron," Velma murmured, and she stood back as the ghosts reconvened, making a group together. We huddled as well, Fred's strong arms round me and regaining most of their strength after Kristina's demise.

"You will never escape…"

A weak but familiar voice floated through the floorboards, and we all jumped and yelped at it, but there was nothing more Kristina could do to us yet and we all knew it.

"I will follow you. The soul of an enchantress never dies… You will never be in peace after what you have done to me and my kin, Mystery Inc. I will stay with you for as long as you live and beyond death. Hear my curse and tremble, Mystery Inc., for you will never again truly be alone…"

And then the voice wavered, failed, and faded away into the past.

Somehow, I doubted her words. But somehow I wondered if they were true.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I hope to include some more "intimate" Fraphne romance in this chapter, so if you're very young or if you're squeamish, don't read! Jazzola

Wrapping the mystery up was easy from there. We passed on little Keiron's message to his parents and they were thankful for it.

"We want him back so badly," his mother whispered, caressing her little boy's cheeks in a photo. There was no body for them to bury, so Keiron's funeral would be simply a memorial. His body had dissolved into dust after Kristina's defeat. I wished there was some way they could have his body for the funeral, to give them complete closure, but there wasn't a way.

All emotions were on high in the house, and nobody escaped a few tears, not even Fred. He tried to hide them, being him, but since everyone else was crying it wasn't that crucial.

It was when we were at home that night that we were talking, him and me.

"Do you believe Kristina? Do you think she'll come back and haunt us?" Fred asked. I shook my head.

"I don't know what to believe, Freddy. I really don't."

"I don't feel alone," Fred murmured, glancing round as though Kristina might be hiding in a corner. I smiled at him.

"You're not. I'm here."

I walked over to him and slid onto the couch next to him, snuggling under his arm. He smiled at me, but he still looked round the room warily.

"Freddy!"

"Mm?"

"She's not here. She'd let us know if she was."

"I guess you're right."

I smiled up at him, trying not to lose myself in his aqua eyes and failing. They were such a brilliant blue, so comforting and warm and calming, I remembered how they had helped in countless situations when I had been panicking and him just looking at me had calmed me down. I couldn't remember a time when we hadn't been closer than friends, and I knew he had known I had a crush on him when we got into senior school, but he admitted his love and now we were together. Was I thankful… I loved him so much, and I know it's mushy and romantic, but I would do anything for him, maybe even give my own life. What's with the maybe? Of course I would!

I whispered "I love you" in his ear, and he murmured it back, snuggling into the couch and holding me close. I laid my head on his chest and listened to the steady _thunk-thunk-thunk _of his heart against my ear. His head rested against mine, his breathing smooth and steady, his cheek warm and comfortable. I reached up and stroked it, and he closed his eyes at my touch, stroking my arm with the hand that was around me. Love flared in my chest, unravelling like a flag in the breeze, and I kissed him, full on the lips, passionate. He kissed me back, wrapping both arms round me, one hand in my hair, the other on the small of my back, caressing it. I let my hands stray to his head as well, the immaculately groomed but often unruly blond hair, the smooth curve of it at the nape of his neck. I slid my fingers through it as our tongues wrestled in the midst of the kiss, his mouth warm on mine and his hands so soft and broad, delicious on my skin…

We fell asleep entwined, and all I did was kick my shoes off and grab the blanket from the armchair and slide it over us. He opened his eyes a little and whispered, "What're you doing?"

"I'm sleeping here."

"With me?"

"Not in that sense. Only if you want to…"

"Daph…"

"What?"

"Only if you want to."

I smiled at him, at the guy I had lived with, joked with, messed around with, gotten into trouble with and fallen in love with.

"Maybe we should go upstairs."

He smiled, and sliding his legs out from under him he gently picked me up, the blanket still on top of me, and walked towards the stairs with me in his strong, warm arms, smiling as I kissed his neck teasingly.

I could barely remember a time when I was this happy.

A/N: I told you it got a little more "intimate"! That's what the T rating is there for, guys… That and the horror. I couldn't resist- that's the first time I've tried horror and I thought it went OK. Now, please review and tell me what you think, because I love getting reviews so much… I'm so happy when I get one that I start yelling "Hallelujah" or something and the entire household comes in and starts asking if I'm OK and my dogs start clutching each other in worry (not really, but that's the scale of my delight! XD). So seriously, please please review, even if it's only short. Please? I'm a good girl! XD Jazzola


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